Ronald Willis

September 11, 2012

California

$120 Million Dollar Man Calmly Claims his MEGA Millions® Prize!
How would you react to winning a MEGA Millions jackpot worth $120 million? For Ronald Willis, he stayed extremely calm, although there was some giggling that could be heard throughout the claiming process today at the California Lottery's Inland Empire District Office.

Willis found out from his co-workers that a winning ticket had been sold in Riverside, so when he got home that day, he got on his iPad and compared the winning numbers to his ticket – they all matched. "I'm not a yeller or jump around type of guy. When I realized I won, I just stayed calm, sat back and let it soak all in," he explained in his calm, baritone voice.

The ticket successfully matched the numbers 20, 5, 33, 36, 11 and the Mega number of 11. Willis' numbers were not a Quick Pick – they were his own numbers that he has been playing since MEGA Millions started in June of 2005 and they consist of birthdays and anniversaries. He only plays MEGA Millions and SuperLotto Plus® and always buys six lines for each draw, twice a week, and he says he has a thing for even numbers.

The jackpot ticket was sold at the 7-Eleven located at 3740 Iowa Avenue Suite 11 in Riverside, but Willis doesn't ever go to that retailer to buy his tickets – this was the first time. He happened to be picking up his paycheck and decided to stop at this retailer because it was close to his work. Lucky for that retailer he did, because the retailer will receive a bonus of $600,000 for selling the winning ticket.

With four children ranging in age from toddler to high school, Willis says they can all plan for college to be in their futures. Other than that he says, "I want to invest this money and make it grow." Again, remaining as calm as always!

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